Improvement in time-locks



. L. PoTTER.

TIME-LOCK.

Patented Nov. 14, 1876.

Il l. .lllllllilllllflllllll fnl/en fw? 4e 1A :una I UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.,

WILLIAM L. POTTEROF MEGHANIGSVILLE, NEW'YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN TIME-LOCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,297-,dated November14, 1876; application h'led October l1, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLLAM L. POTTER, of Mechanicsville, in the countyof Saratoga and State of New York, have invented cer- `tain Improvementsin Time-Locks for Safes,

Yperiod-as, for example, over night, or over Sundays or holidays, evenbythe key of the vusual lock. Its object is to provide a device for thepurpose that while securing the object sought in a degree equal to manyothers of its class, yet the said device shall be more simple inconstruction, and consequently cheaper to manufacture, which may beconveniently adjusted to act any number of hours desired, and which maybe readily attached or applied to almost any safe of ordinary or knownconstruction.

The invention comprises a tilting actuating device, constructed with acapillary passage, and partially filled with liquid, in combination witha locking-lever, the whole so combined and arranged that the liquid,being in one end of the said device, will, by itsweight, retain thelever in position to lock the door of the safe or other receptacle.;but, being transferred by capillary attraction to the opposite end, willtilt the same, and thereby bring it to a position to unlock the door,the time required for this being proportioned to the relative weight ofthe two ends of the device, and also to the quantity of the liquidtransferred, as aforesaid, and the rapidity of the capillary action. Theinvention further comprises a novel combination of parts whereby themost advantageous operation of my aforesaid invention is secured.

Figure l is a face view, from the inside of a safe, of a time-lock ormechanism made according to my invention, showing the parts in positionprevious to locking the safe-door. Fig. 2 is a like View, showing theparts in the position occupied during the time that the door is lockedby the device. Fig. 3 is a similar view, with the parts in the lockingposition of a modification of my invention.

A is the door, and B the adjoining sides of a safe; and C C are theusual locking-bolts of the lock therein. These bolts C f'orm part of alock of any suitable or ordinary construction, the character of the lockitself being of minor importance in the `use and operation of myinvention. In the `form and structure shown in Figs. l and 2, thelocking bolt or bolts should be provided with a stud, shoulder, or stop,a, the connection ot' which with the bolts C in thejust-mcntionedfigures is indicated in dotted lines.

It is manifest thatthese bolts, being thrust into the usual sockets b inthe adjoining surface of the door-frame-of the safe, will beheld in alocked position `independent of the action of any key, or any action ofthe lock ot which said bolts form a part, in case any firm obstructionis placed behind the stud a.

D is a lever, pivoted to the inner surface of the door A, and having oneof its ends notched, as shown at c, this notch providing a shoulder,which,when this notched end is elevated, will fitbehind the stud a andprevent the withdrawal of the bolts G, as just hereinbe# fore indicated.Upon this lever D are attached two bulbs, AE and F, connected by acurved tube, G. The bulbs may be of glass, the tube of metal, or bulbs`and tube may be in one piece,of glass. yEach bulb has a sufficientcapacityoto hold a quantity of alcohol or other liquid, sufficient, whenin the bulb E, to tilt the notched end c of the lever upward, and

when in the bulb F to tilt the said end downward. A quantity ot' theliquid not exceeding the capacity of one of the bulbs is placed withinthe two and their connecting-tube. In the tube Gr is placed a strand(indicated by the dotted line m) of cotton or other fibrous, substance,or any material capable of insuring the transmission of liquid throughit by capillary attraction. The ends of this strand m should extend intothe bulbs E F. rIhe two bulbs and their curved connecting-tube should befirmly connected together, but preferably should be attached to thelever by hooks or staples a', so that they may be readily detached fromthe lever, in order on occasion to be reversed, as hereinafter morefully eX- plained. I is a screw-threaded carrier, attached to the leverD, and having upon it a nut, load, or rider, K, which may be adjusted atany desired point along the length of the aforesaid rider. Nis a spring,attached at one end to the end of the lever D adjacent to the bulb E,andat the other to a screw, P,

which Works through a tixed nut, g, 0n the incounterbalances the Weightof the opposite arm of the lever D, and that of the bulb F- thereon; butwhen, by capillary attraction, sufcient ofthe liquid has passed throughthe strand m into the other bulb, F, to tilt the end c downward, thesaid end is brought away from the stud a, as represented in Fig. 1, andthe bolts C may be retracted by the normal operation of the lock. Ofcourse the time occupied in the aforesaid transfer of liquid fromthe/one bulb to the other will depend not only upon the rapidity of thecapillary actionv of the line m, but also upon the quantity necessary toeffect the tilting of the device, as set forth; and this quantity willdepend upon the resistance afforded by the spring N and the rider K,

A so that by adjusting the said spring and rider,

either or both, the length of time may be varied to any requisitedegree, according as the secure locking of the bolts C against allreversemovement or withdrawal is desired. In practice, this adjustmentis preferred to be made by means of the rider alone, and the properposition of the rider in any given case, for any given time, is bestascertained by trial until the proper position is found. It is easy,however, so to graduate the carrier I that an approximate adjustment mayat once be made. The spring N is especially designed to hold the bulb Ein case, as in unlawful attempts to open the safe, the safe is turnedupside down, which, without some such provision,'w0uld be likely to tiltthe device and release the bolts.

When desired, the apparatus may be constructed and arranged asrepresented in Fig. 3. In this latter, the end of the lever D sweepspast the adjacent edge ofthe door-frame, as indicated by the dottedline. When the end c ofthe lever D is elevated, it holds against theinner surface of the door-frame, and thereby prevents the openin g ofthe door, irrespective 0f the operation of the ordinary lock.

When the lever is tilted by the transfer of the liquid from the one bulbto the other, its end passes around an arc away from the edge of thedoor-frame, and permits the door to be opened.

When the liquid has passed from the bulb E to the bulb F, as described,and it is again desired to lock the -door by :means of my invention, asherein set forth, the two bulbs, with their connecting-tube, are removedfrom the lever D and replaced in a reverse position; which done, theliquid passes by capillary attraction from F to E, in the same manner asin the previous operation of the device it passed from E to F, theoperation of the device being the same in one case as in the other.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The tilting actuating device,constructed with a capillary passage and partially filled with liquid,incombination with a locking-lever, the whole arranged for use andoperation substantially as herein set forth.

2. The time-lock comprising the described tilting actuating device, thelocking-lever, the adjustable load or rider, and the spring N, the Wholecombined in relation with each other, the door A, and safe B,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM L. POTTER. Witnesses:

W. M. EDWARD, JAS. E. MATTHAEL

